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ONE HUNDRED VIEWS 



Kearney 




BUFFALO COUNTY 

NEBRASKA 



T 



HE MIDWAY CITY OF THE CONTINENT 
THE ELECTRIC CITY OF THE WEST 



1892 

FOR SALE BY T. N. HARTZELL, CITY CLERK 

CENTRAL AVENUE, KEARNEY, NEB. 
PRICE, POSTPAID, 25 CENTS 






ANNOUNCEMENT. 

In the belief that the public prefers to see actual results, rather 
than to read of or search for tliem, this collection of " One Hundred 
Views of Kearney," from actual photographs, is offered. Modern 
photographic art is a faithful servant, and may be used to chronicle 
the life and accomplishment of a city. Realizing this fact, we have 
prepared these pages, endeavoring to dispense as far as possible with 
wordy chapters and confusing statistics. The pictures tell a story of 
modern enterprise, progress and accomplishment in the Great Mid- 
West, which, we believe, will sufficiently interest those into whose 
hands they fall to make them desire to cast their future with ours in 
continuing the work of progress. 

The embossed bust of General Phil Kearney shown on cover 
is taken from a life size bronze bust presented to the city of Kearney 
by General J. Watts Depeyster, January, 1892. 

WM. S. SKINNER. 



Kearney, Neb., April, 1892. 






A WONDERFUL WATERPOWER. 



A BIT OF HISTORY. 

Kearney's population, 1875, 250 ; 1885, 3,600 ; 1890, 8,356. 

As a water station on the Union Pacific railroad Kearney may 
be said to have first attracted notice. To the railroads and water 
Kearney owes her present importance. First came the railroad, 
locating its tank and saying here shall be a town. The town grew 
with the development of agricultural interests — a few hundred each 
year. Then came men of brains and capital and said we will add to 
the agricultural importance of Kearney by making it a manufactur- 
ing center. We will do this by creating a water power from the flow 
of the Platte river, which is wasting its energy through the plains. 
Engineers pronounced their plans feasible, and a canal was con- 
structed, drawing its supply from the river 16 miles west of the city, 
and the water thus brought to Kearney is to-day developed into 
thousands of horse power for manufacturing purposes. 

This water power through the agency of electricity furnishes 
light for Kearney's streets and houses, propels the street cars, operates 
the printing presses of the daily newspapers, and turns the wheels of 
many varied industries — from the dentists' drills to the flour mills 
with several hundred barrels per day capacity. 

Within two months a cotton mill of 15,000 spindles will also be 
operated by our water power. 

The undertaking is unique in the annals of town-building. 
Kearney is the pioneer in this work, and has already reaped the 
benefit in having more than doubled her population since work was 
first begun on the canal seven years ago. The city is acknowledged 
as one of the foremost electrical cities of the country. Its future as 
a manufacturing center of the West is not only full of promise, but 
assured. 



AN ELECTRIC CITY. 




miggy^l^^MeH^xai^l*! 



„» U... 'g<g r'"i i iT i i i fi i l l M W i . ii > . '7 i mi«;_ m m i jtJb J 




LAKE KEARNEY. 




CANAL OVERFLOW — FALL SLXTY FEET. 



10,000 HORSE POWER FOR MANUFACTURING. 



THE WATER POWER. 

The following figures will explain the present development of 
Kearney's water power : 

Length of canal, - - - - - - i6 miles. 

Width of canal, . . . _ _ ^o feet. 

Depth of canal, ------ ^y^ feet. 

Flow per minute, - . . - 18,000 cu. feet. 

Height of fall, 61 feet. 

Present equivalent energy, - over 2,000 horse power. 

The capacity of the electric plant at Power House now is : 
One pair 350 h. p. turbine wheels. 
One pair 800 h. p. turbine wheels. )■ 7 Dynamos. 
One 425 h. p. supplemental engine. J 

The cotton mill plant will utilize water from the canal to run its 
machinery, an 800 horse power wheel doing the work. 

The canal is now being widened and deepened to meet increased 
demand for power, the water supply being sufficient for more than 
five times the present capacity. 



ELECTRICITY THE POWER OF THE AGE. 




KEARNEY ELECTRIC CO., POWER HOUSE. 




KEARNEY EI ECTKIC CO., POWER HOL'SE DYNAMO ROOM. 



CHEAPEST AND MOST PERFECT LIGHT. 



ELECTRICAL DEVELOPMENT. 



Nearly every industry in the city uses electric ])o\ver developed 
from Kearney's water power. 

A flour mill with a capacity of 200 barrels per day was one of the 
first mills in the country to use electric power, which it has done for 
nearly a year, doing away with its 125 horse power steam engine. 

Incandescent lights in use, - . _ _ 3,000. 

Arc lights in use, --...- ^o. 

Miles of electric wire strung, - - - - 68. 

Miles of electric road operated, - - . - ^i^. 



RELIABLE MOTIVE POWER. 



A TOWN IN ITSELF. 



THE COTTON MILL 



Capacity, 26,000 yards unbleached muslin daily. 
Employs, 450 persons. 

Buildings : — 

Main mill, _ . . 408x102 feet, two stories. 

Fan room, ----- 92x27 two stories. 

Power house, - - - - - -59x48 feet. 

Engine room, . - . . . 30x70 feet. 

Tower, - - 33X27 feet, three stories, with tank for 
automatic sprinklers for entire building in case of fire. 

Spindles operated, 15,000. 

Turbine wheel, 800 horse power, water from canal. 

Bricks used in construction, 7,000,000. 

Car loads machinery for mill, 150. 

Cost construction, 8400.000. 



450 EMPLOYEES— ADDS 2, GOO IN POPULATION. 



IN 1883, AN AGRICULTURAL TOWN. 



INDUSTRIES SECURED. 

Kearney Cotton Mill. 

Kearney Flour Mill and Elevator. 

Kearney Oatmeal Mill. 

Kearney and Black Hills Machine Shops. 

Kearney Gas Works. 

City Water Works. 

Hub Printing Co., Book Bindery, etc. 

Kearney Paper Mill. 

Metcalf Cracker Factory. 

Kearney Stone Works, [quarry in Wyoming]. 

Nebraska Ice Company. 

Kearney Canning, Pickling and ^'inegar ^^'orks. 

Kearney Brick Work, [pressed bricks]. 

Hibberd Brick Works, [common and paving bricks]. 

Flurley Brick Works. 

Kearney Canal and AA'ater Supply Co. 

Kearney Electric Company, [operates light, power and street car 

plants]. 
Packing House. 
Consolidated Tank Line. 
Kearney Manufacturing Comjjany. 
Kearney Foundry and Iron Works. 
Kearney Cornice Works. 
Midway Bottling Works. 
Plow Factory. 
Kearney Cold Storage, Commission and Seed Co. 



IN 1892, TWENTY-FIVE INUUSTRIES. 



610,000 ACRES IN COUNTY. 



AGRICULTURAL WEALTH. 

The value of farm products of Buffalo County for 1891 exceeded 
the entire assessed valuation of the county for 1890. 



1891, ONLY 392 SOO ACRES CULTIVATED. 








Mi 



16 THE MID-WEST THE CENTER OF POPULATION. 



WHY MANUFACTURING WILL PAY HERE. 



Because there are 14,000,000 people to-day between the Missis- 
sip])! river and the Rocky Mountains, and 3,000,000 between the 
Mountains and the Pacific. 

Because there are 8,500,000 people in the states bordering 
Nebraska, within a circle whose radius is about 500 miles. 

Because Nebraska alone, with one fifth its soil cultivated, has 
1,100,000 population. 

Because the greatest increase in population of the nation during 
the present decade must be in the great Mid-West. 

Because the Chicago World's Fair will further the development 
of this section, by acquainting thousands and thousands with our 
resources. 

Because Nebraska has practically no state debt — less than 
$500,000 — and its estimated wealth in real property is $1,585,160,300. 

Because Kearney is midway between the two oceans — 15733 
miles each way — and we are nearer many kinds of raw material than 
present eastern factory centers. 

Because our water power is reliable and cheap. 

Because we are demonstrating what we can do, and the present 
indications point to a continuance of the wonderful progress and 
development of Kearney and Nebraska. 



OUR RESOURCES ARE BECOMING KNOWN. 



18 SIXTEEN MILES OF WATER MAINS. 



CITY WATER SUPPLY. 



That often vexatious subject of city water supply never agitates 
the Kearney public. The city has a perfect system of water distribu- 
tion, and the supply is inexhaustible. It is drawn from that great 
underflow which geologists have demonstrated underlies the broad 
Flatte valley, and has its source in the never-failing snows of the 
Rocky Mountains. An independent plant pumps the purest, crystal 
water from this great undercurrent, a vast natural reservoir, which 
penetrates to the tertiary rocks, and the same power distributes it to 
meet the needs of the city, whether for house or fire purposes. Our 
present capacity is 3,000,000 gallons per day. Sixteen miles of water 
mains are now laid. No expensive reservoirs of masonry are needed, 
for nature has supplied our wants. 



SUMMER CONSUMPTION, 1890, 2,000,000 GALLONS PER DAY. 



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20 ELEGANT AND WELL EQUIPPED. 



PUBLIC AND OFFICE BUILDINGS. 

Several hundred thousand dollars are invested in Kearney in 
state, county and city buildings, all of which are handsome, modern 
structures, valued as follows : 

State Industrial School Buildings, - - $500,000. 
Buffalo County Court House, ... 100,000. 

City Hall, ___.._ 25,000. 

Aside from minor store buildings, many of which have good 
offices in connection with the upper stories, the following elegant, 
large brick and stone buildings have been erected within the past 
three years : 

Opera House, five stories, three stores, bank, sixty offices, club 
rooms, stone. 

Bartlett & Downing block, two stores, 24 offices, pressed brick 
and stone. 

Andrews Building, bank, two stores, 25 offices, pressed brick 
and stone. 

Midway Loan & Trust Co., store, 31 offices, pressed brick and 
stone. 

Hamilton Loan & Trust Co., eight offices, stone. 

First National Bank, bank, two stores, 14 offices, and lodge 
rooms, brick. 

McEwen Building, store, offices and lodge rooms, brick. 

Midway Hotel, nine offices and accommodation for 150 guests. 



CONVENIENT AND COMFORTABLE. 




BUFFALO COUNTY COURT HOUSE. 




KEARNEY CITY HALL. 



THIRTEEN CHURCHES. 



CHURCHES. 



Kearney has thirteen church edifices. The following denomina- 
tions are represented : Congregational, Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, 
Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, German 
Presbyterian, United Presbyterian, United Brethren, Christian. 
Services are also conducted weekly in the Y. M. C. A. rooms for 
men of all denominations. The clergy are exceptionally well edu- 
cated, and include four doctors of divinity. The headquarters of 
the Missionary Diocese of The Platte [Episcopal Church], is located 
here. Recently, through the efforts of the Bishoi), an Episcopal 
school has been established, and three commodious buildings already 
begun will be ready for occupancy in the fall. The school will add 
to Kearney's importance as a religious center. 



ONLY SEVEN SALOONS. 



24 SMALL FRUITS EASILY CULTIVATED. 



THE CANNING INDUSTRY. 



The following interesting statistics are given in connection with 
the business of the Kearney canning factory : 

OUTPUT 1891. 
Corn, Tomatoes, etc., - _ . 1,000,000 cans. 

Pickles, ------ 6 500 barrels. 

From 150 to 200 employees were engaged in the work during the busy 
season. The whole output was disposed of at a fair margin of profit. 

In this connection a few figures in regard to market-gardening may 
be of interest : An acre planted with peas yields 125 bushels; toma- 
toes, from 400 to 450 bushels ; cucumbers, 250 bushels ; sweet corn, 
one and one-half tons. 



PROFITABLE INFANT INDUSTRY. 



26 SCHOOL POPULATION, 1890, 2,200. 



EDUCATION. 



Kearney enjoys exceptional public school facilities. Seven 
school buildings accommodate 2,200 scholars at this time, with 40 
teachers. Four of these buildings are brick, handsomely designed, 
and occupying squares of several acres each. Among the number is 
a high school, presided over by a graduate of Union College, where 
students may be prejtared for university studies. 

The city has voted $65,000, for the erection of three additional 
brick buildings to meet increasing requirements. 

Buildings are now being erected for an Episcopal school, with 
Bishop Anson R. Graves, D.D., at the head, and a faculty which will 
add greatly to Kearney's prestige as an educational center. 

The Midway Business College gives a large number of students 
a thorough business education. 

Capable instructors supply the groundwork for studies in the 
higher branches of music and art. 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, NINE. 




STATE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. 



EPISCOPAL SCHOOL. 



Buildings now being erected will be opened in the coming fall 
as an Episcopal School for the education of both sexes. The build- 
ings will accomodate one-hundred and fifty boarders. 1 he school 
will be under the control of Anson R. Graves, D.D., Bishop of the 
Diocese of the Platte of the Episcopal Church, with Mr. C. A. 
March, of Kearney, as principal. Students may select studies 
from normal, business or general courses. The buildings consist 
of a main hall 60 x 40 feet, built of brick, four stories high, and two 
dormitories, each 116x34 feet, two stories high. Twenty-five acres 
of land surround the buildings which are located in a most desirable 
portion of the city, accessible by electric cars. The buildings will 
be heated with steam. 



TAXES ARE LOW. 



IMPROVEMENT RECORD. 



Since 1888, improvements have been made in Kearney, neces- 
sitating an outlay of : 

^3076,852. 

The expenditure of this large sum of money places Kearney in 
the front rank of progressive American cities. 



PUBLIC DEBT SMALL. 



so GRADED STREETS, 175 MILES. 



STREETS. 



No feature adds more to the attractiveness of a city than hand- 
some, regular streets. This is a noticeable characteristic of Kearney. 
Its business and residence blocks are of uniform size. Its streets are 
wide and well graded. Every square is divided by an alley, allowing 
the laying of sewer, gas and water mains at the rear of houses, enabling 
repairs to be made without inconvenience. The streets vary in width 
from 80 to 130 feet. There are 175 miles of graded streets in 
Kearney, and 53 miles of sidewalks. The principal thoroughfares 
are lighted with electricity. The main business street is provided 
with stone curbing, and gutters. For nine months in the year, owing 
to the character of the soil, Kearney's streets rival Macadam pave- 
ments in smoothness and beauty. 



SIDEWALKS, 53 MILES. 



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CENTRAL AVENUE NORTH OF TWENTY-FIRST STREET. 




CKNIRAI. AVKNTK SOUTH OK I'W KNTY-l-T KS 1' S rREF/l 



Sa NEBRASKA'S MILEAGE, 1867, 290. 



RAILROADS. 



Kearney is the most important station on the main line of the 
Union Pacific railroad between Omaha and Denver, with over six 
miles of side track to accommodate local business. This company 
has just completed a handsome $25,000 passenger depot here — ilie 
best between Omaha and Denver. 

The Burlington and Missouri River railroad in Nebraska [C. B. 
and Q. system], also makes connection at Kearney, and handles a 
good share of our business. 

The Kearney and Black Hills railroad is a Kearney enterprise, 
incorporated two years ago. It is already built to Callaway — 66 
miles, and has greatly developed the Wood River Valley. It will be 
extended northward this season, the coal fields of Wyoming and the 
mineral lands of South Dakota being objective points. The main 
offices and shops are located in this city. 

The Missouri Pacific is now operated to within 26 miles of 
Kearney, and will in the near future open new trading points for 
Kearney. 

A line connecting Kearney with Galveston on the south and the 
great Dakota wheat fields on the north is projected ; also a line from 
Lake Superior to Pueblo. 

In 1867, Nebraska had only 290 miles of railroad. To-day there 
are in operation 5,418 miles, with an assessed value of $29,265,917. 
The total milage at present is only 277 miles less than the combined 
milage of Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Con- 
necticut. 



NEBRASKA'S MILEAGE, 1802, 5,418. 



84 POPULATION, 1860, 28,000. 



NEBRASKA. 



On March i, 1892, Nebraska celebrated the twenty-fifth anni- 
versary of Statehood. From an insignificent territory this State has 
grown within a quarter of a century to be one of the most populous 
and wealthy commonwealths of the nation. 

In 1869. Nebraska, with a territory of 76,840 square miles, had 
only 28,000 inhabitants. To-day the population exceeds 1,100,000. 
During the decade from 1880 to 1890 the population increased 150 
per cent. The increase was at the rate of 1,000 persons a week, and, 
attracted by the wonderful production of 1891, the inquiry for farm 
lands promises to continue the rapid progress. In 1890, however, 
hardly more than one-fifth of the soil was under cultivation. With 
an area larger than the whole of New England, it is not difficult to 
foresee the day when Nebraska's population will equal the 5,000,000 
people of that section. Will not the fiftieth anniversary see the 
present indications realized ? 

The assessed valuation of real and personal property in 1880 
was ^90,585,782, in 1890 the valuation had increased to $184,770,305. 
The estimated value of grain and cattle produced in 1891 was 
$75,000,000, and the products from manufactures, half as much 
more. In other words, Nebraska's products for one year now exceed 
the entire value of the State with all its lands, towns, railroads and 
chattels ten years ago. 



POPULATION, 1890, 1.000,000. 




MIDWAY HOTEL. 







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MIDWAY HOTEL OFFICE. 



86 



NEARLY THE AREA OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND. 



BUFFALO COUNTY. 

Value of Personal and Railroad Property, 
Value of Real Property, - - - 



)ii, 322,424. 
8,845,864. 



Buffalo county extends 37 miles east and west, and 25 miles north 
and south, with Kearney, the county seat, near the southern boundary. 
The soil is equal to the richest in the state, every acre being capable 
of cultivation. The Platte, Wood and Loup rivers flow through 130 
miles, with several tributary streams adding their quota, making it 
one of the best watered counties in the state. 

Aside from Kearney, there are 25 towns in the county, with 
populations of from 300 to 2,500. 

There are 107 miles of railroad in the county, and not a farm ten 
miles distant from a railroad or telegraph station. 

The population increased from 7,431 in 1880, to 22,129, in 1890, 
and is now estimated at over 25,000. 

As an agricultural or stock producing county, it has no superior in 
the state. Kearney draws trade from Phelps and Kearney counties 
on the south, and Dawson, Custer and other counties on the west 
and north. 

There are 610,000 acres in the county, 392,500 of which are 
improved, from which the estimated production in 1891 was as follows: 



ACRES. 


YIELDS IN BUSHELS. 


VALUE. 


AVheat, 126,600 
Corn, 157,000 
Oats, 90,270 
Other crops, 19,630 


2,880,000 
6,280,000 
4,513,500 


$2,061,000. 

1,884,000. 

902,700. 



To these may be added : 14,000 horses, 40,000 cattle, 10.000 
sheep, 26,000 hogs, all valued at least at $1,290,000. 



Actual valuation of county, estimated, $36,534,500. 



EVERY ACRE MAY BE CULTIVATED. 



38 THE GEM OF THE PLATTE VALLEY. 



KEARNEY. 

The Omaha Bee of January 24, 1892, contained the following 
editorial, which was a welcome and unexpected tribute to Kearney 
from that able journal : 

" The city of Kearney strikingly illustrates what enterprise, 
perseverance and indomitable pluck can accomplish. From a strag- 
gling village, Kearney has, within less than ten years, grown to a 
bustling, flourishing city with all the modern improvements possessed 
by any metropolis. Her broad business thoroughfares are compactly 
built, her public buildings, hotels and theatres, are substantially con- 
structed and impressive in appearance, and her business houses and 
private residences are handsome and tasteful. In many respects 
Kearney is far in advance of any other city of her population on 
either side of the Atlantic. 

" She enjoys the cheapest and most perfect electric illumination 
of any city on the continent. She has a system of electric motor 
street railway that would do credit to any city of four times her 
population. She has an inexhaustible supply of water for domestic 
use and fire purposes, and, what is of greater advantage, she has a 
water power that will make her one of the greatest manufacturing 
centers west of Chicago. The first cotton mill west of the Missouri, 
now under course of construction, is rapidly approaching completion, 
and within a few months its 15,000 spindles will be put in motion. 

" The marvelous growth which has taken place in Kearney within 
the past few years is almost entirely due to the development of her 
water power, which has been achieved by a heavy outlay of local and 
foreign capital. Nebraska can justly feel proud of what may truth- 
fully be called the gem of the Platte Valley." 



A MANUFACTURING CENTER OF THE GREAT MID-WEST. 




MIDWAY LOAN AND TRUST COMPANY BUILDING. 




ANDREWS BUILDING. 



NEBRASKA LANDS STILL CHEAP. 



PROFITS IN FARMING. 



The day of cattle kings and land barons is past. Land has 
become too valuable to hold in immense tracts. When land could 
be had for less than a dollar an acre, and the cattle ranges were 
practically unlimited, these conditions fostered monopoly. The 
demand for cheap lands was of necessity met by large holders selling 
tracts, which, at a few dollars an acre, yielded immense profits. 

Land is still cheap in central Nebraska, and rich returns follow 
investment, with good business methods and scientific farming — 
qualities everywhere necessary to success. The best of cultivated 
land may be had in sections within this county at prices ranging from 
$15 to $40 an acre. 

Mr. J. L. Keck has a section of land a few miles from Kearney, 
which cost him a few years ago $8.00 per acre. Four hundred and 
forty acres cultivated in 1891 yielded him a return sufficient to pay 
for the land, the cost of planting it, and all taxes and interest. 

Hon. A. G. Scott of Kearney, World's Fair commissioner, as 
another example, had 160 acres under cultivation last year, which he 
had just sold for $5,500 — or less than $35 per acre, which yielded 
him 1 2 3^ per cent, on that value. He sold at a very handsome, 
profit. None of his personal time was given to the work, 



LARGE RETURNS ON INVESTMENTS. 



42 VARIED AND WHOLESOME. 



AMUSEMENTS. 



Within the past year an opera house, costing 11140,000, has been 
completed, which has no rival in beauty of design or equipment with 
any in the West. Its seating capacity is 1,200. It is lighted by 
electricity. 

In summer base ball and tennis have many enthusiastic followers 
Boating and horseback exercises are features of our outdoor life. 
Musical and literary societies draw membership from a considerable 
number of college graduates. The social life of the city is found 
very attractive by new comers. 

The race track of the Buffalo County Agricultural Association 
is within two miles of the business center, and the Spring and Fall 
meetings are events drawing horsemen from a wide circuit. 

Sportsmen find an abundance of game in this section. In season, 
thousands of ducks and geese feed along the Platte and Wood rivers. 
Quail, prairie chickens and snipe abound on the prairies. Rabbit 
coursing and wolf hunts, afford rare sport, dogs and horses especially 
trained, adding to the excitement of the chase. 



OUTDOOR LIFE MOST ENJ0^■AB.LE. 




RABBIT HUNTING PARTY. 




KEARNEY (IPERA lluL.'^K. 



ESTABLISHFJ) UNDER STATE LAW. 



PUBLIC LIBRARY. 



A Free Public Library, located in rooms in the new City Hall 
building is maintained by the city, circulating a creditable number 
of volumes of standard literature. Reading rooms in connection 
contain the leading newspapers and periodicals on file, accessible 
daily. The library is liberally patronized. 



MAINTAINED BY CITY, 




KEARNEY OPERA HOUSE INTERIOR. 




KEARNEY OPERA HOUSE INTERIOR. 



46 PUBLIC A READING COMMUNITY, 



NEWSPAPERS 



Kearney has two daily newspapers, the Hub, an evening, and 
the Journal, a morning paper. Both issue weekly editions. There 
are, besides, two weekly newspapers circulating throughout the 
country — the Netv Era and the Standard. The Kearney Church- 
man is a monthly paper, published under the auspices of St. Luke's 
Episcopal church. The Industrial School Courier is a monthly 
paper, printed and published at the State Industrial School, which is 
doing good work for the technical and general education of the boys 
under the care of the State. Telegraphic press franchises,' control- 
ling the field for this city, are owned in Kearney. 



INDEX OF PROGRESS. 



•48 BANKS, SIX. 



BANKS. 



Four National banks transact Kearney's general banking busi 
ness. Their condition as reported to the comptroller of currency- 
was as follows, March i, 1892 : 

Capital paid in, ------ I 500,000. 

Surplus, - 116,000. 

Loans and discounts, ----- 1,042,815. 

Deposits, - 685,004. 

Undivided profits, ----- 31,236. 

One State bank and one savings bank, bring the total number of 
banks up to six. 



BRANCHES IN NEIGHBORING TOWNS. 



so WITHIN REACH OF ALL. 

\ 



HOMES. 

In 1890, the city had 1,520 houses, 637 of which had been 
added within two years. Many have been erected since, though the 
greater part of the building of Late has been in the direction of 
business and factory structures. The hotel facilities are adequate 
and include a handsome fireproof structure. [There are only seven 
saloons in Kearney, or less than one for every thousand inhabitants.] 
The character of our homes is amply shown in the accompanying 
illustrations. 



PURE AIR AND BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS. 






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S2 MARKETS EXCELLENT AND CHEAP. 



COST OF LIVING. 



Dwelling houses may be rented in the most desirable portions 
of the city at prices ranging from $io per month, for five or 
six room cottage, upward, with electric street car convenience at 
hand. Small houses in some sections may be had as low as $6 per 
month. 

Water rates are reasonable. Electric light service is lower than 
in any city in the West. A house requiring sixteen candle power 
lights may enjoy a freedom from dirt, and danger from fire, and a 
perfect light for less than one cent, per lamp each night. Gas rates 
are also low. 

Excellent markets supply meats and vegetables at prices ena- 
bling families to live better and cheaper than in a majority of 
eastern cities. 



HOUSE RENT LOW. 



300 PLEASANT DAYS EACH YEAR. 



CLIMATE. 



Kearney is 2,200 feet above sea level. This comparatively high 
elevation secures for it cool and refresliing breezes, which sweep 
across the prairies, moderating the heat of summer, protecting this 
section from many common comj)laints and diseases known in other 
parts of the continent. The health-promoting qualities of the at- 
mosphere are an effectual antidote to pulmonary affections, while 
catarrhal or malarial troubles disappear as if by magic. So dry and 
invigorating is the atmosphere in winter, that a temperature below 
zero, causes no more inconvenience than many degrees above in 
states where the air is charged with moisture. 

The winters of Central Nebraska are much shorter than those 
of regions east or north. The United States Signal Service reports 
show that the periods between the last killing frost in spring and the 
first in the fall is forty-seven days longer in this locality than in 
regions about us, even as near as 250 miles. Our average of pleas- 
ant days each year varies little from 300. 

Many invalids, seeking relief from consumption or other pulmon- 
ary affections, find the air at Denver and other elevated points in 
Colorado too rare. Such persons will find great relief at Kearney — 
half the altitude of Denver — and after a short residence here, may 
go on to Colorado, and obtain the full benefits of mountain air. 
Singers, with delicate throats, often entirely lose their voices at 
Denver. The air at Kearney, in several cases, has restored full use 
of the vocal organs. The same class of invalids from the seaboard 
States find the climate here works wonderful cures. 



HEALTH-PRODUCING AND INVIGORATING. 




,Eu. W. 1 RANK RKSIHENCE. 




GEO. W. FRANK RESIDENCE, INTERIOR. 



TWELVE AND ONE-HALF MILES OF SEWERS. 



SANITATION. 



Natural causes contribute to healthful conditions in Central 
Nebraska cities. A rich, porous soil absorbs with wonderful quick- 
ness, the surplus moisture, and stagnant pools of water are 
unknown. But large cities cannot rely on such means of sanitation. 
One of the first acts of Kearney, on becoming a city, was to con- 
struct an adequate system of sewers. There are now laid twelve 
and one-half miles of sewer mains, sufficient to meet the demands 
of a city of 40.000 people. This improvement was completed in 
1890, at a cost of 170,000. 

The death rate for the year is less than one per cent, of the 
population. The city owns the cemetery, and this very low per- 
centage may be verified from tlie city sexton's reports. 



NATURAL SURFACE DRAINAGE. 






y a 




B8 AMPLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 



RAINFALL. 



A local authority gives the rainfall at Kearney, for 1889, at 
31^ inches, and snowfall at 8^ inches. The L'nited States Signal 
Service reports give the average for 20 years, at Fort Kearney, at 
25.42 inches. Charts by the same authority also show that this sec- 
tion of the Platte Valley has a greater rainfall than some other 
sections about us. 

The Signal Service Bureau has recently established a fully 
equipped observation station here, and comj^lete reports and records 
will be furnished in future from this station. 



GREATEST IN JUNE AND. JULY. 








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sasrs-J 


., 






^^^ 



eo FREE DELIVERY. 



POSTAL FACILITIES. 



Kearney enjoys the benefits of free delivery of mail matter. 
The net profit to the government from the office during 1890, was 
$8,328. The business of the office entitles the city to a government 
building, which will doubtless be granted in the near future. 



A PROFITABLE GOVERNMENT OFFICE. 



62 NO LACK OF BUSINESS FACILITIES. 



TELEPHONE EXCHANGE. 



Business in the city is facilitated by an excellent telephone ex- 
change with 200 subscribers. The management of the business is 
in good hands and the service gives general satisfaction. 



UP WITH iMODERN PROGRESS. 




GREENE TERRACE. 




WEST KEARNEY PARK AND R. R. STATION. 



64 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR SPEED. 



FIRE PROTECTION. 



The city fire department is equipped with ail the latest appara- 
tus for fighting fire. The pressure of the city water system obviates 
the use of steam fire engines. One hundred and sixty fire hydrants 
disposed about the corporation limits answer all requirements, while 
3,000 feet of hose allow a large section to be surrounded, and a fire 
fought from many points at one time. The efficiency of the depart- 
ment affords a low rate of insurance. The city council has recently 
let the contract for an electric fire alarm system, and intends shortly 
to add a chemical engine to its appliances. One of the volunteer 
fire companies holds the State championship for speed. 



A PERFECTLY EQUIPPED DEPARTMENT. 



MOVE WEST WITH YOUR MANUFACTORY. 



THE REASON WHY, 



BY P. S. EUSTIS, OF C. B. & Q. R. R. CO. 



"Profit on manufacturing in the New England States is very 
small ; profit on agriculture in the far Western States is also small. 
The Western producer is too far from the Eastern consumer ; he 
cannot give sufficient to the Eastern producer in exchange for his 
product. Business is based on an exchange of products — not on 
money. The farmer in Nebraska has a standing offer of so many 
bushels of corn in exchange for a good stove ; the Massachusetts 
stove-maker offers his stove for so much corn. The two producers 
are far apart. Long haulage and speculative centers are between 
them. The stove-maker wants to eat the corn, the farmer requires 
the stove to warm his home ; both must work very hard to pay the 
intermediate costs of the exchange, hence both complain that the 
profits are small. Exchange of products is the fundamental ]:)rinci- 
ple of all business ; the nearer the producers are to each other, 
provided they produce diametrically opposite necessities, the 
greater the profits or the leisure. All the ramifications of trade do 
not alter tliis principle one iota. The farmer cannot move his farm 
to Massachusetts ; the factory can, however, move to the West. On 
the foregoing positive economic principle, that factory located in the 
West must pay, always provided that the enterprise has been under- 
taken i^rimarily by the man who thoroughly understands his 
Inisiness ; that the location has been selected with prudence after 



68 



earnest study of the country, both in regard to the supply of raw 

material and the tributary territory available for the disposition of 

the manufactured product ; that sagacity and judgment pervade 

every movement concerned in the creation of the factory, and that a 

comprehensive business intelligence guides it toward the highway 

of success. 
********* 

"Why do Eastern manufacturers complain that their profits 
are cut to a smaller margin every year? Why do they say and feel 
that competition is becoming more and more fierce ? Why does it 
cost so much to sell goods to their Western customers ? Why do 
they feel that Western manufacturers are gradually eating into tlieir 
trade ? Why do they regret that they feel compelled to put their 
sons in their own factories, knowing that the competition is becom- 
ing greater and greater ; or why, in the face of all this, do they 
establish their sons in branch factories in the East, when the more 
favorable West offers a less competitive market, greater scope for 
enlargement, a sure field, and that development which is in itself 
consonant witli the development of an ever growing territory? Have 
they hazy notions of the conditions of the West ? The people who 
buy their goods are chiefly located Westward. * * * There are 
smaller towns in the West where rent and food for employees is very 
cheap. There are towns where cotton can be laid down cheaper than 
at manufacturing points in New York State. There are towns 
where iron is solely wrought, that have a surplus of female labor. 



70 



'' Nearly every manufacturer in the West is doing an ever- 
increasing and profitable business, but capital is scarce for the 
development of all the resources of the West. All these towns are 
seeking to trade with industrial establishments located near them. 
The West will trade with the West. These towns are the concentric 
points of five or six railroads, distributing goods all over the United 
States. They have electric lights, gas and water works, fine residence 
locations, and metropolitan comforts. Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, 
Missouri, and Kansas offer the best facilities and markets for manu- 
facturing industries. There are towns that will pay a cash bonus to 
any bona fide factory locating, others that will give free sites, and 
others that will subscribe stock. 

" There are towns surrounded by coal and raw material in tlie 
AVest right in the midst of the customers of Eastern factories, and 
others that have inexhaustible water-jjower. Is it consistent with that 
energy which has made this great country a success to wait until 
others have filled the field, and then, by force of economic exigencies, 
to have to follow to secure what remains, or should this matter be 
siven earnest consideration ? 



" The field for manufacturing in the near future is the West.'' 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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